An Okotoks theatre group’s latest play is all talk.
Dewdney Players Group Theater has tasked actors to portray 70 different characters in its upcoming production of It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Show, a radio version of the beloved American holiday classic set on Christmas Eve in 1946.
Shows will run Nov. 11, 12, 17-19 and 24-26 at 7:30 p.m., with a delayed start on Nov. 18, at the Rotary Performing Arts Centre.
“It’s a very unique show in that it’s a play within a play,” said producer Matt Seders. “Our actors have characters who are fictional celebrities who perform this radio show of It’s a Wonderful Life. It is a risky show in some ways, but we thrive on challenges.”
Seders said actors Brian Fea, Nicola Payton, Brad Fowler, Sheena Johnston and Gabe Baier each portray a range of character voices, which means some will have conversations with themselves between two or three different characters.
“Our five voice actors will read from their script different parts of It’s a Wonderful Life as George, Mary, Clarence the Angel, Mr. Potter,” he said. “These actors bring them to life. It’s not so much of a traditional show where you will see them moving around on the stage. You can see in their facial expressions the change in characters or how they stand or how they interact with each other.”
Those who auditioned last summer were given the 1940 radio announcers test that was handed out to people who wanted to be on the radio, said Seders.
He said it consists of 10 statements that progressively get more difficult.
“It’s more crazy as you go,” he said. “It starts off easy and then has words that would easily trip somebody up. It’s all about the pronunciation.”
Seders said everyone who auditioned was tasked to do the announcers’ test in two adult voices and one child’s voice.
“There was some people who stood out tremendously and others that had to come for callbacks just because of the nature of the show,” he said. “The actors have blown me away with how well they’ve embraced their multitude of characters.”
The actors are supported two Foley artists, played by James Nash and Jessica Baier, who will perform more than 100 sound effects on stage from doors opening and closing to walking through snow.
“The Foley artists use some very strange items to make a sound that you would never would have thought connected,” he said. “Even for today’s movies they find whatever props make the right sound.”
Although the script suggests items they can use to make certain sound effects, Seders said most of it was done through trial and error and they found what worked best. For instance, they crush cornflakes to make the sound of ice breaking when Clarence and George jump into the river.
“The Foley artists have the most impeccable timing that you could ever imagine because this whole show is about timing,” he said.
While the five actors and two Foley artists are a big part of the show, Seders said the audience also plays an important role.
“Our audience is the studio audience of the radio show,” he said. “The actors feed off of the audience.”
Actress Nicola Payton has taken on the challenge of playing Mary, George’s wife, and Sally Applewhite, a Hollywood movie star who was formerly Miss Ohio.
For the Mary role, Payton said she uses four different voices representing different ages, but for Applewhite’s she only plays one as the Hollywood star is inexperienced in radio.
“She’s quite reserved,” she said. “She knows some people don’t respect that she’s come from the pageant world and she’s quite in awe of the other cast members that have multiple voices. Sally just does her voice.”
Payton has spent weeks perfecting her characters.
“It’s such an interesting concept because we are actors, playing actors, playing actors on a radio show,” she said.
“It’s a challenge to play these different characters and remember you are someone who is acting as someone else.”
While Payton has the least number of voices to play, she had to overcome the biggest hurdle yet – playing American characters despite her English accent.
“Personally for me trying to make a plausible American accent has been a challenge,” she said.
Tickets for It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Show cost $20 for adults and $15 for children and seniors and can be purchased at dewdneyplayers.com
During intermission there will be door prizes, silent auction items and a collection bin for the Okotoks Food Bank.
